Fifth-grader Brings Assault Charges

Teacher Left A Red Mark, Student Says

GLOUCESTER — A Gloucester teacher has been charged with assaulting a 10-year-old student, said Capt. Timothy P. Doss of the county Sheriff's Office.

John Franklin Knauf, 49, of Gloucester Court House, was charged because of an incident that allegedly occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 22 in the Petsworth Elementary School lunchroom, Doss said.

He said the student and other children were sitting at a table and another teacher asked them to move. The student said he didn't hear the request, Doss said.

The student complained that Knauf stood behind him, put his hands on the boy's shoulders and left a red mark.

"My client maintains his innocence in this matter," Knauf's lawyer, Jeff Shaw, said Monday. He said Knauf denies he touched the boy.

Knauf said Shaw advised him to not answer a Daily Press reporter's questions.

School Superintendent J. Larry Hoover said he cannot discuss personnel matters, but the incident "involved his normal duties as a teacher."

Hoover said "the issue is the touching of a child," and a court will have to evaluate the accusation. "We're anxious that it be resolved very quickly, for the best interests of the children" at Petsworth, Hoover said.

Knauf, a licensed teacher for 25 years, has worked in the Gloucester school system for nine years. He's a fifth-grade language arts teacher at Petsworth.

"We don't have a choice but to put him on administrative leave," as required by state law, Hoover said.

He said the School Board will determine whether Knauf will be paid during the leave.

Knauf and his family members have been active in PTAs, academic programs, youth sports and educational issues.

In 1993, Knauf was named Gloucester's Conservation Teacher of the Year by the Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Daily Press is prohibited by Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court from publishing the name of the student on the summons, which was issued by a magistrate.

The trial has been set for Nov. 2.

Judith Haynes can be reached at (804) 642-1734 or by e-mail at jhaynes@dailypress.com